7 Days Xinjiang Culture Tour

Destinations:Urumqi, Kashgar, Turpan

from: US$750Tour Code: CITIC-XJ-05

Summary:
Our 7 days Xinjiang culture tour will bring you to visit the beautiful heavenly lake,the top museum in the world which collects the historical relicss of the ancient silk road and xinjiang,the oasis-Turpan to visit the local Uighur family,the East Meca-Tuyoq valley.visit the unique city Kashgar which is more like the central asia to experience the famous Sunday Bazaar.

Our nice guide will meet you at the airport and be transferred to the Hotel

Day 2

KashgarKarakul Lake (200kms 3 hrs driving)

After breakfast take the drive on the China and Pakistan highway to visit the Karakul Lake and enjoy the Pamir landscape.Karakul Lake,At an altitude of 3,600 m. it is the highest lake of the Pamir plateau, near the junction of the Pamir, Tianshan and Kunlun Mountain ranges. Surrounded by mountains which remain snow-covered throughout the year, the three highest peaks visible from the lake are the Muztag Ata (7546m), Kongur Tagh (7,649m) and Kongur Tiube (7,530 m). The lake is popular among travellers for its beautiful scenery and the clarity of its reflection in the water, whose color ranges from a dark green to azure and light blue. There are two Kirgiz settlements along the shore of Karakul Lake, a small number of yurts about 1km east of the bus drop-off point and a village with stone houses located on the western shores.

Day 3

Kashgar city sightseeing

Id Kah Mosque

Sunday Bazaar (livestock Market)Streets near this big market are choked on Sundays with farmers and buyers arriving by donkey cart, truck, bicycle, horseback, ute, motorbike or on foot, with their animals. It's loud, lively and cheerful as they arrive, eat breakfast, set up their animals and check out the action. Cattle, sheep (they definitely look different), goats, donkeys, horses have their own sections; sellers show their animals are "good eaters"(most go as livestock not meat) and the entire experience is fascinating and fun.Id Kah Mosque It is the large Mosque in China and most famous one in Xinjiang. The Mosque started to build in the mid of fifteenth century, and has gradually developed to the present size. Id K ah Mosque, with about 16800 square meters in area, consisting of Pray Hall, the Koran teaching Hall, The Corridor, the Arches and other buildings attaching to it.Apak Hoja Tomb: This Mazar is the holiest place in Xinjiang and an architectural treasure ． Built in 1640 ， it is reminiscent of the Central Asian artistic style of Samarkand or Isfahan ． A handsome blue-and-white tiled gate leads into the compound, which includes a small religious school and the Abakh Khoja family tomb.Old town: Kashgar is an ancient city, and in walking the streets of its Old Town, will provide a sense of what this legendary Central Asian hub was like in the days when the Silk Road was at its zenith. 500-year old remnants of the city wall, narrow lanes and colorful multi-ethnic crowds combine to make Kashgar's historic district a highlight of any visit to the city.

Day 4

Kashgar-Urumqi

Heavenly Lake

After breakfast take the morning flight to Urumqi.
Visit Heavenly Lake & boat cruise on the lake. Erdaoqiao Market & International BazaarHeavenly Lake: 110 kilometers from Urumqi, the Heavenly Lake is a long and narrow gourd-shaped moraine lake. There are eight beautiful scenic spots in the lake scenic area, they are “A Ray of Stone Gate”, “Dragon's Pool and Green Moon”, “Magic Needle for Guarding the See”, “Three Stones Bearing the Sky”, “the Snowcapped Southern Mountain”, “Pine Billows in Western Mountain”, “the Hanging Waterfall”, and the “Sea Peak's Sunrise”.Erdaoqiao Market & International Bazaar,The Erdaoqiao Bazaar is the largest in Urumqi. You'll find a bustling market filled with fruit, clothing, crafts, knives, carpets and almost anything that you can imagine. On Sunday, there are more stalls and more goods to buy than any other day. The old streets around the bazaar are really worth seeing.Here is the most welcomed place by tourist especialy by ladies where they can buy some traditional yugur make up cosmetic.

Day 5

UrumqiTurpan (190kms 2.5hrs driving)

Jiaohe Ruined

After breakfast visit Xinjiang Museum then head to Turpan.Visit Jiaohe Ruined city, Karez Irrigation System, Sugong Minerat, Local Uyger family in the VineyardXinjiang Museumthe. There are more than 50 thousand pieces of various kinds of cultural relics stored in the museum, among them, the ancient mummies represented by ‘the Loulan Beauty', manuscripts in Chinese, Kharosthi, Qiuci, Yanji, Tibetan, Uigurian and other characters prevailed in ancient Westen Regions, the silk ,wool, cotton and hemp fabrics and folk rainment, etc., are unusual tidbits in the world.Jiaohe Ruined.is located on a mesa in willow leaf shape between the Yarnaz River valleys 10 kilometers to the west of Turfan City. running from northwest to southeast, 1760 meters long and 300 meters across at the widest part. The city includes city gates, streets and lanes, government office, temples, domestic houses, cave houses, wells, and an underground temple.Karez Irrigation System: is a unique irrigation system in Turfan, which, taking advantage of the slopes, draws the underground water to flow by itself to irrigate farmland. It consists of four parts: vertical wells, underground channels, ground canals and small reservoisSugong Minerat: theTower was built in the 41st year of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty,It is an embodiment of the ancient architectural arts of the Uygur nationality. The tower is 37 meters high and 10 meters in diameter at the base.

Day 6

TurpanUrumqi (190kms 2.5hrs driving)

Our Clients in Bezklik Grottoes

Visit Bezklik Grottoes, Astana Tombs, , Tuyoq Valley and in the afternoon back to UrumqiBezklik GrottoesIt is located 50 kilometers to the east of Turfan City . “Bezeklik”means “a place with beautiful decoration”. There are 83 numbered caves; among them 40 preserved murals totaling 1200 square meters. These caves are first excavated in Qu`s Gaochang period. The exising caves were reconstructed or newly extended by Uighurian people. In some caves one can find that Buddhish murals are painted on Manichean murals. Themes of the murals are mainly the stories about causes.Astana Tombs Located over 40 kilometers to the southeast of Turfan City , covering an area of 10 square kilometers, the Astana Tombs are the graveyard of the residents lived in the Gaochang City in the Jin-Tang times, including large sized family graveyard. Between 1959 and 1975,here had been excavated 13 times, a great number of cultural relics have been unearthed, including Chinese documents, textiles, epitaphs, coins, clay sculptures, pottery, wooden wares, silk-paintings, crops and foods ,etc., and total number of them reaches tens thousands. Known as “the Underground Museum.
Tuyoq ValleyThe caves lies 65 kilometers to the east of the city of Turfan and are constructed or dug in eastern and western cliffs in Tuyoq valley . Among more than 40 caves, there are 10 preserving murals. They are considered to be the earliest caves in Turfan, Murals are mostly damaged, but unique in style

1 All the lunches and dinners and the breakfast when overnight on the train
2 Personal expenses. such as laudentry and tips to the guide and driver
3 other activities such as boating, camel riding ect
4 Domestic flights or trains as listed in the itinerary
Flight: Kashgar to Urumqi with tax